The present invention relates to a razor head, and especially a razor blade unit, disposed at the front end of a handle of a wet razor. A razor blade means in the form of a single or double razor blade is disposed in a plastic body. In the vicinity of the upper side of the razor head that defines a surface for engaging the skin of a user, protecting strands extend over the cutting edges of the razor blade means at a distance from one another and parallel to the direction of shaving.
Various embodiments of wet or safety razors are known. In each case, disposed at the front end of a handle is a razor head that carries the single or double razor blade. The razor head can be integrally formed with the handle as a molded plastic part. If the razor head is separate from the handle and is to be secured thereto in an exchangeable manner via an appropriate mechanism, it is designated as a so-called razor blade unit, with a single or double razor blade being fixedly embedded in a plastic housing.
A razor head in the form of such a razor blade unit is disclosed in EP 0389007. A wire having a number of adjacent windings is wound around the plastic body in which the double razor blade is embedded. In the vicinity of that surface of the razor blade unit that engages the skin of a user, the individual windings extend at a distance from one another and parallel to the direction of shaving, while at the underside of the plastic body the windings extend at an angle. This protective wire winding significantly improves the shaving characteristics. For example, the wire prevents the formation of folds or bulges of the skin, so that injury to the skin can also be prevented in areas not easily visible during shaving.
Furthermore, the wire reduces the actual shaving resistance, since it reduces the frictional forces. Finally, the protective wire prevents the user from accidentally cutting himself during improper handling of the razor blade unit.
During testing of such wire wound blade units it has been discovered that a comfortable and close shave is not always achieved. Some blade units would have the required comfort and safety but would produce an insufficiently close shave. Also, some other blade units would produce a sufficiently close shave but not be sufficiently safe and comfortable. The comfort and safety provided by the wire strands need to be carefully balanced with the requirement for a close and effective shave. The correct balance needs to be achieved consistently for mass produced blade units. The present invention provides a solution to this problem by careful control of the shaving geometry of the razor head.